The Ghosts In Your Head
by howmoriartystolechristmas
Summary: The manager of the Overlook, Mr Ullman, grounds his daughter and she has to stay at the hotel over the winter with the Torrance family. Read Charlie Ullman's story as she navigates the stormy seas of love, danger, murder, and creepy ghost visions. Hold on to your seats, 'cause it's gonna be a bumpy ride!
1. Chapter 1

_I have tried to write a fanfiction on the Shining before (Did You Hear about the Torrances?), but I soon realised mid-writing it that I had skipped parts, and not developed some aspects enough, and that it would end before there were any real dramatic stakes or anything. So that's why I've ditched that attempt and I will start anew. This time I'm trying to actually plan this story in advance, because I have a horrific habit of doing everything on the spot and not having any plan. So hopefully this will be a huge improvement._

"For God's sake, Dad! I'm seventeen now! You can't just do this!" Charlotte 'you better call me Charlie' Ullman hated her life. No joke. She was raised by an absolute dick of a man, Stuart Ullman, and the only friends he ever had were creeps that stared at her whenever she was in the room. Her mother was six feet under, and she never had any siblings, or friends to think of it. In fact, the only reason she could really carry on was her dreams. Charlie loved musicals. Her only aspiration in life was to be on the stage, acting her heart out. And now that was being taken away from her too.  
"Actually, Charlotte, until you're eighteen, I can! I don't want my only child throwing her life away to play dress up! You will run the Overlook just like I do, and like my father did before me, and his father before him!" Stuart Ullman, luckily, gave none of his genes to Charlie. In fact, not just in looks, she was nothing like him. And she'd be damned if she ever ran this bloody hotel. No pun intended.  
"Oh, that's just great! Decide my life for me, why don't you? I guess you might as well lock me up over the winter like fucking Rapunzel if the hotel means that much to you!"  
He paused. Shit. "The best idea you've had- actually, that's the best idea you've had, period. You are officially grounded, missy, and you'll stay in the Overlook from now until I return next summer."  
Charlie froze, and her mouth dropped open. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"  
He laughed, a bitter chuckle that pulled his mouth into a frown. "Wrong with me? You're the one that wants to spend her life on stage, dressing up! You're the one that wants to make a living pretending!"  
"Then what do you call your job, _dad_? Dressing up like a genuine businessman, sweeping all the blood and guts of the Overlook under the rug, _pretending_ like nothing bad ever happens here! You, if nothing else, are a disgusting hypocrite. Before I'm sentenced to solitary bloody confinement, I just want you to know that I absolutely hate you!" Charlie was shaking with anger. It wasn't fair! She had so many auditions that she'd now miss out on because of this. Charlie didn't know if her father knew, and decided to punish her anyway, knowing what she was losing, or if he had no idea, which would mean he just didn't ever listen to her. She didn't even know which one was worse.

Her father had left her in the suite above the office where they lived. He apparently had an interview with a potential candidate for the caretaker job. 'Potential candidate' being her father's words. She knew everyone hated this job. No one ever did it twice. So potential candidate was a bit of an exaggeration, because chances were, he'd hire this person anyway. Charlie just hoped this caretaker was friendly. Maybe they even had family or friends that were staying with them.  
She could hear the murmur from below, in the office. It sounded like a man. It usually was, of course. Charlie sighed. This guy would probably be her only companion for six or so months. Great.

Below, Mr Ullman adjusted his nameplate as the candidate spoke. John Daniel Torrance, his name was, and he seemed like an alright fellow. Mr Ullman knew he would ultimately hire this man, but he couldn't help but love watching him squirm, anxious to impress. A mutual friend had recommended this Mr Torrance, and Ullman had heard about his history. Recovered alcoholic, trying to write a play after he got kicked out of a school for assaulting a student. Interesting stuff.  
Normally, Stuart wouldn't dream of tainting the reputation of the hotel for this sorry sucker, but since it was the caretaker job, it didn't really matter. Besides, after the Grady man killed his family, and everyone got over it really fast, Ullman just couldn't bring himself to care if this man would off his family or not. Not his business.  
Ullman could hear shuffling from upstairs. Charlotte. Which reminded him of his…deal. Interrupting Mr Torrance, he smoothly said, "Another thing I should warn you about is my daughter."  
The man furrowed his eyebrows. "Your daughter, sir?"  
Stuart huffed. "That's what I said, yes. We have an arrangement. She'll be staying here with you and your family over the off season. I'm sure she'll be no bother to you. I'll make sure of that."  
Torrance laughed, relieved. "Oh, no, sir! That's fine, just fine! I'm sure Wendy will enjoy having another female in the place, and Danny loves making friends. How old is she?"  
"She's, uh, six- seventeen. Seventeen."  
"Right."  
An awkward silence ensued. Ullman cleared his throat. "Well then, I'm sure you'll be wanting to call that wife of yours and tell her the good news."  
"Good news?"  
"You're hired, Mr Torrance. Don't let me down."

A ring was heard. Wendy wiped her hands on a dish towel, to clear off the soap from washing the dishes. She walked over to the phone and picked it off its handle. "The Torrance home," she shifted the phone between her ear and shoulder and began folding washing. "Wendy here."  
"Wendy!"  
Wendy smiled at her husband's voice. He sounded really happy; she supposed he must've got the job. "Jack! How's it going up there?"  
"Uh, real good. Listen, I've got some papers and stuff to fill out, and some more things I have to go over with the manager, so I might not make it back for dinner."  
"That's okay. Sounds like you got the job, huh?"  
"That I did, Wendy. I have to go, but say hi to Danny for me, alright? I love you both."  
"Love you, hon. Bye now." A beep sounded, and Wendy put the phone down. She sighed. There was a long winter ahead.

 _Please feel free to review, or like, or anything. I'm not the type of person to expect a certain amount of something to post the next chapter, but it is really great to read what you think of the story. However, I'm also not great with schedules, so if you want to keep up to date on this story, it's maybe best to follow the story, so you know when a new chapter is released. I do have the entire story planned, but not written, so hopefully I can find the time between school, work, and my social life :)_


	2. Chapter 2

CLOSING DAY

"Ah, Mr Torrance, welcome back."  
"Thanks, Mr Ullman, sir. This is my lovely wife, Wendy, and my son- Danny?" Jack and Wendy Torrance craned their necks around the expansive lobby, looking for the sandy mop of hair belonging to their son.  
Mr Ullman held back an impatient sigh and tapped his foot as the two parents looked around and called out to their son. Finally Wendy spotted the small child at a window, with his nose pushed up on the glass. She rushed over to him, gently grabbing his upper arms to get his attention. Danny looked away from the huge hedge maze he saw outside and allowed himself to be herded back to the lobby desk by his mother.  
As Wendy approached Mr Ullman and her husband with Danny in tow, she saw a girl had joined them. She was laughing with Jack, and Wendy couldn't help the stab of jealousy she felt when her husband was grinning and joking with this girl. But as Wendy got closer, she forced herself to be rational. The girl was only a teenager, it was clear to see with her young face and short frame. She was wearing a worn pair of jean overalls with a wool turtleneck jumper underneath. She was very pretty, with curly brown hair cut short just above her jaw, and bright green eyes, but Wendy could see the imperfections too. It wasn't nice, but Wendy found it rather helped with jealousy; finding flaws. The girl had a dimple on her left cheek when she smiled, but not on the right, and there was a little gap between her two front teeth. She was wearing odd socks and her hair was sticking up at the back, almost like she'd just woke up. But still, this girl had spiked Wendy's curiosity.  
"As I was saying, my son Danny. Hey Wendy, Mr Ullman was just introducing me to his daughter, Charlotte, was it?"  
The girl nodded, but added, "Charlie, actually. Hi, Mrs Torrance, very nice to meet you. And Danny, nice to meet you too." Danny grinned up at her from behind Wendy's legs.  
Just as Wendy was about to speak, Mr Ullman butted in. "Yes, well, as Mr Torrance knows, Charlotte will be staying at the Overlook this winter with you. I assume that won't be a problem?"  
Jack shrugged at Wendy from behind Mr Ullman's back, and the girl, Charlie, smiled sheepishly. Wendy had a feeling it wasn't really a question at all. She stayed silent and just nodded.  
Danny took the moment of quiet to say his two cents' worth. "Do you like cars, Chuck?"  
When Charlie realised the boy was addressing her, rather than correcting him, she just smiled. "Of course I do, Danny. I actually have a car all to myself!"  
Danny's eyes widened comically. "Woah! Hey mum, can I have a car all to _my_ self?" He craned his neck right up to his mother, who chuckled.  
"When you're old enough, Danny." Wendy ruffled his hair and looked back up to Charlie. "Speaking of, how old did you say you were?"  
Charlie smiled. "I didn't, but I'm seventeen. Eighteen in a few months." She saw her father stare at her strangely, and suddenly she remembered what they were standing there for. "Oh, I'm sorry, you have a tour to go on! I'll be in the games room, if anyone needs me. Ciao!" With a bounce of her hair and a grin, Charlie turned to leave.  
Charlie heard Danny whispering as she walked away, then he called out. "Hey Chuck?!" She laughed to herself at the strange nickname he came up with, and looked back over her shoulder. "Can I come with?" Charlie glanced up to Wendy, who smiled and nodded.  
"Sure thing, kiddo." He skipped up to her, and with a laugh, they were off down the hallway, with Danny muttering about all his favourite games.

"Yes, yes, on to the tour. Now, I don't have a lot of time so…"  
As the trio moved swiftly through the expansive building, Wendy did her best to pay attention, but she couldn't help but zone out to the patronising drone of Mr Ullman's voice. She sped up a little to catch up to Jack, and curled her fingers around his. She absentmindedly leaned into him whenever they paused to admire a certain room or hear about the way a certain machine worked.  
"…anyway, the bed is not the biggest, so I'm afraid there won't be much room to stretch out between you. I'm sure that won't be an issue."  
"Certainly not!" Wendy twisted her head up to look at Jack, who wiggled his eyebrows at her and laughed.  
Mr Ullman impatiently cleared his throat. "Let's move on."

"…well, we have scrabble, and monopoly, and charades and even a dart board. Oh, look, here we are!" Charlie and Danny arrived at the rec room. There were a few tables with chairs crowded around them, a blackboard, and a dart board, cupboards filled with books and games, and posters covering the walls.  
Danny instantly ran over to the dart board, and started collecting the darts in his hand. "Play darts with me, Chuck!"  
Charlie laughed and walked over. He was holding out three darts; the rest were curled up in his little hand. "Alright, you throw first then."  
They each threw a couple, both missing the bullseye badly every time, and Danny announced he wanted to start a new round. He slowly tugged the darts from the board, and all of a sudden, turned around and stared at something past Charlie.  
Charlie turned around, but she couldn't see anything. She quietly watched him; he didn't seem to be scared or confused, just intently watching…something. He stared for about a minute, and said in a dull voice, "I think we should find mom and dad now."  
Charlie couldn't help but agree.

Wendy, Jack, and Mr Ullman were now in the kitchen. An old man in white clothes sat inside. He had a look of concentration on his face, looking into the distance. When Mr Ullman cleared his throat, the man looked up and grinned. He took long strides to go over to the doorway, and started shaking their hands. "The Torrance's, I assume?"  
"Yes, I'm Jack and this is my wife Winifred."  
"Winnie or Freddie?"  
"Wendy." Wendy smiled as the happy fellow vigorously shook her hand.  
"Of course, of course. Well, I'm Richard Halloran, but be sure to call me Dick, and I'm the cook here. Now, let me show you around my kitchen."  
Just as they started into the kitchen, a little voice called out. "Mommy, Daddy, I'm back!" It was Danny, with Charlie trailing behind him quietly, a rueful smile on her face. Danny ran over and hugged Jack, then held on to Wendy's leg.  
They all made their way into the kitchen, with Dick happily leading the way, crooning about all the different appliances and foods he had.

About an hour later, the Torrance's had followed Mr Ullman on the rest of the tour. Charlie stayed behind with Dick. Dick Halloran was her favourite staff member at the Overlook (her father included, unfortunately), and Charlie had many fond memories of Dick sneaking her chocolate ice cream after bedtime, or telling her scary ghost stories about the hotel on Halloween.  
Now that she was older, Charlie knew the truth behind those stories. She knew about the shining, and about the bloody history of the Overlook. Luckily, she had been informed by Dick quite early on that she had nothing to worry about; she didn't have a single inch of the shining in her. She could peacefully roam the hotel without fear of seeing dead children or decaying women in bathtubs. Dick and Charlie had an agreement of sorts; they were sure to always watch out for guests with the shining, subtly making sure they stayed away from the Gold Room, or assigning them a room far away from 237. It was a simple business, but necessary for the hotel's wellbeing.  
Dick was sitting at the metal table in the middle of the kitchen. There was a bowl on the counter with the dregs of the chocolate ice cream Danny had earlier. Charlie knew Dick had told him about the shining. Of course, she couldn't sense or feel it, but when Danny was staring into thin air earlier, she had a strong suspicion that he had at least a little bit of the shining.  
Dick ran his hand over his wrinkled face. "That Doc has the most shining I ever done seen in my life. It ain't safe for him here."  
Charlie furrowed her eyebrows. "Doc?"  
"Danny's nickname. He's only, what, five? Yet he's seein' things, and he's knowin' things." Dick straightened up and looked Charlie in the eye. She had never seen him so worried. "He knew about 237."  
"How?"  
"His imaginary friend, Tony." He paused, and took a deep breath. "Now, I wish I could stay, but these old bones are getting too brittle for the Overlook winter. You'll have to keep a sure close eye on him, Chuck."  
"Chuck! I knew it sounded familiar!"  
"What are you on about, girl?"  
"Danny called me Chuck, not Charlie. I couldn't place where he picked it up from. I guess he must've sensed your shining, just like you sensed his."  
Dick shook his head and stood up. He put on his jacket and made to leave. As he leaned down to hug Charlie goodbye, he muttered quietly, "if that little boy can do this much shining without any knowledge of it, I think we oughta be real careful now. You be sure to call me if anything happens, Chuck. Anything, you hear?"  
Charlie nodded mutely, and Dick made his way past her into the hallway, and was gone.

 _The usual deal applies with reviewing, and I'll see you next chapter :)_


	3. Chapter 3

SIDEWINDER

As Wendy and Charlotte strolled around the run-down Sidewinder, they could feel the air sharpening around them. Charlie knew the signs; after years of living at the Overlook, she could tell when a snowfall was imminent. She brought it up at last night's dinner, and Wendy declared that they would all take a trip down to Sidewinder beforehand, to 'get some new air before the big snow' as Danny phrased it.  
Unfortunately, the 'big snow' wasn't reason enough for Jack. He was convinced his play was finally getting somewhere, and that he couldn't afford to leave and risk the inspiration leaving too. Danny, ever the daddy's boy, wanted to stay behind with his father. And so it became a girl's outing, rather than a family trip. Not that Charlie was family, she forcefully reminded herself. Her 'family', the selfish Stuart Ullman, was out likely having the time of his life away from his daughter.  
"How about we stop and get a coffee?" Wendy had stopped and was staring at Charlie with her doe eyes. "I'm awful thirsty after all this walking."  
There was a cramped little café near the end of Sidewinder's main road, and so they each ordered a drink and found a booth back by a fireplace, whose sad embers were giving the appearance of warmth, but not much of the actual sensation. Wendy put some shopping bags on the seat next to her, while Charlie sat hers between her legs under the table. They had been to the only clothes store in town and Wendy found a cute little pair of Snoopy slippers for Danny's upcoming birthday. Charlie had spotted a dingy second-hand bookstore with surprisingly great books, and they had both found some they liked. While Wendy was outside, Charlie secretly bought a bunch of picture books for Danny.  
She knew she wasn't part of this family, in fact she couldn't quite manage to escape that thought, but she still felt an affection towards the little boy and wanted to please him on his birthday. Charlie could feel the edges of the books poke into her legs as she sat across from Wendy.  
Now that they were sitting down in an empty café, Wendy looked like she wanted to say something. Her eyes were all shifty and her hands were fidgeting on the table.  
The silence was growing uncomfortable. Charlie took a breath, "Is everything-"  
"I'm worried about Danny."  
Another long silence. Charlie froze; she couldn't know about the shining, could she?  
"I'm worried about him because, well, now that we are going to be in the same building for months on end, and now that Jack is always so busy and distracted and _angry_ , and I know he has a history, and I know that Tony-"  
"Wait, slow down, Wendy." Charlie tentatively reached out and rested her hand on Wendy's. "What do you mean Jack has a history?"  
Wendy looked around and lowered her voice to a whisper. "He was an alcoholic. And one time he got really angry with Danny, and he-" Charlie gently squeezed Wendy's hand, almost scared of what she was about to say, "he broke his arm. And now that he is so fixated on his play again, I'm _so scared_ that Danny is going to say something or do something and then Jack will just _snap_."  
"Is he still drinking?"  
"No. God, I hope not."  
"Then Danny will be fine, and you will be fine, and- wait, who's Tony?"  
"Danny's imaginary friend who tells him what to do sometimes." Wendy laughed bitterly and Charlie could see the tears in her eyes. "I don't want Tony to tell him to do something that'll upset Jack. He always listens to Tony. The doctor says he'll grow out of it, but- I don't know. It's weird, I guess. Sometimes he just _knows_ things, things no one tells him, things no one else even knows. I don't know." Wendy sniffed her nose and looked up at Charlie.  
She knew. Well, she couldn't name it, but Wendy knew about the shining. Charlie didn't know whether to tell her or not. She had never had to tell anyone about the shining in her life; that was Dick's job. As the coffees arrived and Wendy wiped her eyes and started sipping, Charlie had to make a decision.  
"I'm sure everything will be just fine."  
Charlie couldn't tell her.  
"In fact, how about we buy a game or something, something to help entertain us tonight?"  
Wendy nodded. Charlie smiled, but it felt plastic.

Later that evening, the four were gathered around a coffee table in their suite, playing the new game of charades Wendy and Charlotte found at the Sidewinder toy store.  
So far Wendy was winning, with Danny coming second, and Jack finishing last. He seemed a little frustrated with it, and became more and more competitive with each round. Wendy and Charlie were a little wary, but Danny just giggled at him.  
"Go, Chuck, it's your turn!" Charlie grinned at the nickname Danny insisted on, and pulled a card from the deck. CHOPPING FIREWOOD, the card read. As Wendy started the timer, Charlie made an up and down motion, miming holding an axe.  
"Cutting vegetables!" Charlie shook her head at Wendy.  
"Hammering a nail?" Charlie shook her head, and Danny made a dramatic "oh, man!"  
"Chopping up…" Charlie nodded, and Jack scrunched up his forehead. "Chopping up dead bodies."  
Everyone froze. "No," Charlie breathed out weakly.  
"Chopping up firewood?" Wendy near whispered. Charlie nodded and gave the card to Wendy. The shared a scared look over the table.  
Danny burst in to a squeal of laughter. "It's not Halloween, dad!" Jack broke his concentration and laughed with Danny. "It's my turn now!" Danny pulled out a card, took a minute to read it and then called out "What job do I have?"  
He got up from the table and started miming writing and typing. Charlie grinned, "Ooh, it's a tough one!"  
Wendy smiled and played along. "Hmm, is it a banker?"  
"No!"  
"A teacher?"  
"No!" He giggled and started pointing wildly at Jack, miming again, and then going back to pointing.  
"A murderer!" Jack grinned and clapped his hands, going up to reach for the card.  
"No, silly! I'm pointing at you!"  
"That doesn't even have anything to do with the mime," Charlie joked, trying to ease the tension between the three adults that Danny seemed to be finally sensing.  
As soon as she said that Jack whipped his head around and glared at her, before stretching his mouth into a sarcastic smile.  
"Is it a writer?" Wendy weakly said. Danny said yes and handed the card to her, his previous excitement gone.  
Danny looked to his father, "I was pointing to you because you're a writer, dad!"  
"Of course!" Jack knocked himself on the head, "how didn't I guess that?"  
There was an awkward silence as Charlie quietly packed the game away and the husband and wife stared at each other. Wendy broke first. "I'm tired, I'm going to bed now," she declared.  
"Tuck me in, then, mommy." Danny stuck his hand out and Wendy held onto it tightly and walked out with him.  
Charlie could hear the sound of their breathing. She felt too frightened to say anything, now all too aware of what Jack was capable of when he was mad.  
He grabbed the game of the table and walked behind her to put it away. "Well, I'm pooped!" There was a silence, where Charlie wasn't willing to say anything. "I guess I better get off to bed with my wife." Suddenly Charlie was squeezed between two strong arms. She jumped, but he didn't let go. "Goodnight," he whispered and finally let go, wandering out the door.  
Now that everyone was gone, Charlie started shaking. She allowed a few tears to escape, but then steeled her resolve and headed off in the other direction towards her suit. She promised herself that she would call Dick tomorrow and tell him what was going on.

CHUCK! CHUCK!  
Charlie burst up in a sweat. Her sheets were all damp, and the clock read 3:46 am. If she had just had a nightmare, Charlie couldn't for the life of her recall what it was about. She didn't even feel all that shaken up. Just as she shifted on to the dry side of her bed to try and get some more sleep, she heard it again.  
CHUCK! CHUCK, COME ON! WAKE UP, PLEASE, CHUCK!  
It was Danny. Her ears rang, but the night was still silent. It must've been the shining, which was a confusing thought. Dick had always told her that she didn't have even an inch of the shining, so how could Danny still reach out to her? Her only conclusion was that he must be pretty damn good at it.  
She stuck her feet out into the cold air and straight into her slippers. She grabbed her dressing gown and padded down the hallway towards his room.  
She knew there was no way she could talk back to him, so she just tried to walk as fast as she could. It can't have been an emergency or he would've called out, but nevertheless she shuffled along the dark hallways and down to the family's suite. The door was open, so she quietly pulled herself through the gap and into Danny's room.  
He was sitting up, thumb in his mouth, and there were tears on his cheeks glinting from the moonlight.  
"Oh, sweetie, what's wrong?" Her maternal instinct came out and she sat on the bed and gave him a hug, slowly rocking him back and forth. "Are you alright?"  
"Tony showed me things." His voice hiccupped and cracked, and he wrapped his arms around her neck. She felt his wet cheeks on her neck.  
"What did he show you?"  
"I'm so sorry, Chuck!"  
"It's alright, Danny, you can tell me."  
"Tony showed me you, and you were on the ground and there was blood everywhere."  
"That isn't going to happen, Danny."  
"Daddy killed you."  
Charlie didn't know what to say to that.  
"Please don't kiss him, Charlie!"  
Charlie stopped rocking. "What?"  
"Don't kiss him, or mommy will see and she'll get mad. That's what Tony says."  
Charlie slowly lowered Danny back down onto his pillow, but he grabbed onto her hand and wouldn't let go. "It's okay, that won't happen. Tony was wrong about me dying, and he's wrong about that, too."  
Danny hiccupped. "How do you know?"  
Charlie scrambled for a reason. "What day is it, Danny?"  
He rolled around and checked his calendar. "Tuesday, April 1st."  
"It's April Fools, Danny. He's just playing tricks on you."  
Danny gasped and turned back to Charlie, his eyes wide. "Really? Do you think so?"  
"I know so. Now go to sleep, I'll be right down the hall, okay?"  
"Can you stay until I'm asleep?"  
Charlie didn't think the Queen of England could resist those puppy-dog eyes. "Okay, then."  
And so Charlie waited until Danny finally drifted off, and his grip on her thumb loosened.  
"Tomorrow," Charlie quietly reminded herself, "I'll call Dick tomorrow."

Special thanks to Super-Wario-Bros for reviewing! Hopefully this chapter meets expectations!  
And let's pray that adorable little Danny won't pull on our heartstrings too much!

As always, you don't have to review, but I ain't stopping you if you want to. I love hearing from you!


	4. Chapter 4

Just a wee warning, as we get farther into the story, the language isn't going to be pretty. Swears are ahead.

Everything was too quiet. Charlie had intended to call Dick to ask him to come down, but all of a sudden everything had gone back to normal, and she couldn't help but second-guess herself. Just as she had decided not to tell Wendy about Danny's shining just yet, she also decided to wait before calling Dick. No point in worrying him if nothing was really wrong.  
But still, everything was quiet. Wendy and Danny were outside enjoying the maze before the snow fell, and Jack was in the Colorado Lounge as always, typing away for his new play.  
Charlie had spent a good few weeks with the Torrance family, and already she loved them. Sure, Wendy wasn't the best conversation, but she had a golden heart. And maybe Jack was scary when he got angry, but he was good for a laugh most days. And then there was Danny.  
Charlie had always been an only child, and she never had many friends. While her peers would go to school and hang out at the local playground, Charlie was stuck in the Overlook, chatting to guests and helping out in the kitchen. In a way, it had made her who she was today, but it was still nice to have a boy like Danny around. He was always kind, and happy, and ready to play. He would try her cooking, and read her his books, and run lines for the musical with her.  
Oh shit. The musical. Charlie knew everything was too quiet. She knew she was forgetting something. The Sound of Music, which she had been painstakingly rehearsing for weeks before her grounding, she hadn't practised in ages. Charlie was going for the role of Maria von Trapp, and as the main character she had a lot of lines to learn and songs to sing.  
It would be a perfect time to practise, while the other three were out, so Charlie ran to her room and got out her script.  
There were many pianos in the Overlook, but Charlie's personal favourite was the grand piano in the expansive Gold Room. The huge room gave great echoes and because it was raised on a little stage at the far end of the room it seemed more like the real thing.  
She ran her fingers over the slightly dusty keys, and started playing the C-major scale. "Doe, a deer, a female deer, ray, a-"  
Charlie paused as there was an almighty crash. She whirled around and saw Jack, at the bar. She froze and squinted at him to try and work out what the crash was. There was a scatted pile of broken champagne glasses on the floor next to the bar he sat by. His head was in his hands and by the way he clutched at his hair he seemed angry.  
She recalled what Wendy said, about Jack used to be an alcoholic, and how he doesn't drink anymore. _'God, I hope not.'_ Charlie noticed that Jack didn't seem to have seen her, or heard her, since he came in. From what she could hear from the other end of the long room, he was muttering to himself. She quietly stood up from the piano, leaving it wide open, with her sheet music still on the stand, and tip-toed towards him, working her way behind the tables outside his peripheral vision.  
His voice became a little clearer. "Here's to five miserable months on the wagon and all the irreparable harm that it's caused me." He stopped for a moment and stared ahead. "Things could be better, Lloyd. Things could be a whole lot better."  
Lloyd? Who the hell was Lloyd?  
Unless Jack had the shining, too. Which meant not only that the already unstable Jack Torrance was susceptible to the horrors the Overlook had to offer, but that Charlie was royally screwed. As Jack muttered on, Charlie decided it was time for her to leave.

Meanwhile, Jack was still having a conversation with his favourite bartender, Lloyd. "The wife won't leave me the fuck alone. She always nags, nags, _nags, nags_. I can't get rid of her, Lloyd."  
"Sounds terrible, sir."  
It was then that Lloyd paused and looked over Jack's shoulder. Jack frowned and shifted around in his seat.

Charlie had almost made it to the open door when a voice called out. "Hey, Charlie, where are you off to?"  
She froze and slowly turned around. Charlie remembered reading somewhere that if a dog is angry, you shouldn't make eye-contact or else it'll attack. She kept her eyes trained on the ugly carpeting at Jack's feet. "To, uh, make lunch."  
"Lunch? It's already 2:30." He was mocking her, trying to catch her in her own lie.  
"I lost track of time."  
She risked a glance at his face, and he was still smiling, a weird, over-eager grin that felt like the bright colours on a venomous snake. "Lost track of time doing what?" The smile dropped. His eyes narrowed. "Listening in on a private conversation? Sticking your nose into other people's business?"  
She knew that it was near suicide, but Charlie was curious. "Conversation? You're the only other person here, Mr. Torrance."  
Jack tilted his head for a moment. He stared her down for an uncomfortable minute then started to smile again. "Hear that, Lloyd? She doesn't consider you a person." He looked behind him again and laughed. "Fair enough, my man."  
Charlie slowly kept edging towards the entrance. She was halfway out the door when Jack's voice stopped her in her tracks.  
"You fucking stop right there!" Charlie turned her head away to hold back frightened tears. She could hear him stamping towards her but she was too freaked to run. Suddenly his voice was in her ear again, and he was dragging her back by her wrist. "You better watch yourself, _Charlotte_. I'm in charge of this hotel now, not you, so you listen to me! You do what _I_ say!"  
He pushed her onto one of the bar stools and sat down next to her. His face was right up in front of hers and she could feel his breath on her chin. "Now, I like you, Charlie. Let's just say, I like you _a lot_. But if you keep disrespecting me like this, I'm not sure I'll be so fond of you for much longer. You get it?"  
"Yes, I get it." But even as she was promising not to disrespect him, her mind was whirring in quite the opposite direction. _I like you a lot_. She didn't want Danny's vision to come true, so if she made sure to make Jack hate her, there was no way he'd want to kiss her. Charlie would just have to pray that he wouldn't be so angry that he'd kill her, like Tony also thought would happen.  
Jack was calming down. His breath was even and his nostrils had stopped flaring. Charlie looked up into his eyes but he was looking down at her lips. She pulled away and got up just as he started to lean in. "I can make you some lunch if you want?"  
"I'm okay."  
As Charlie hurried away to 'make lunch', she knew that her plan would have to happen sooner rather than later.

The day after the incident with Jack, Charlie had decided to take Danny out to Sidewinder one last time before the snow fell. They had taken Jack's Beetle down in the late morning, and it was now early afternoon. They had played in the park, bought Wendy a Mother's Day gift, gone to the toy store and got Danny a truck, and now Danny was back in the playground again as Charlie was a few feet away, using the public telephone to call her father and Dick.  
As she waited for the operator to put her through, and her father to pick up, Charlie looked out the glass booth to where Danny was going down a slide over and over. He had a huge grin on his face and was even talking with the other kids there too. Charlie was worried about Danny. She was worried that when the snow fell he would stop being happy and playful, and instead feel trapped in the Overlook. That's why Charlie had decided to call Dick after she called her father and ask him to come down, if not to make sure things are alright, at least just to give Danny someone else to talk to. She knew Danny got along well with him, and they'd have plenty to talk about.  
"Charlotte?" Her father's proud voice rang in her ear. "I'm busy, why are you calling?"  
"Um, well, I thought you'd want to know how I was doing. That I was safe and all."  
"Well, of course I knew you were safe; if you weren't, I'd be the first person the hospital or the police would call. Can I hang up now? I'm in a meeting."  
"Oh, I'm sorry about that dad. I was wondering, actually, did you know Jack Torrance has a history of alcoholism and violence?" Charlie nervously twirled the phone cord around her fingers.  
"I did. That's also none of your business, Charlotte."  
She paused and tried to think of something to say to her dad, who clearly didn't want to keep talking. "Was there ever a bartender that worked here called Lloyd?"  
"Lloyd? I don't know, I can't be expected to know everyone that's ever worked at my hotel by name. Last name?"  
"I don't know the last name. Don't worry about it."  
"Why are you wanting to know about a Lloyd anyway?"  
"I said don't worry about it."  
"Don't backtalk me, young lady. Have you got yourself another boyfriend? Is he an older man?"  
"God dad, no!" Although she hated herself for it, an image of Jack flashed before her eyes.  
"Where are you calling me from? His house?"  
"Dad, stop it! There is no boyfriend! I'm in Sidewinder, okay?"  
"Don't get angry with me, Charlotte."  
"Well, don't accuse me of things!"  
"As long as you're not pregnant. I can't afford to taint our reputation-"  
"Oh, fuck off, dad!" Charlie slammed the phone down. It beeped at her. She sniffed and picked it up again.  
"This call costed: two dollars and sixteen cents. Please insert: nine quarters into the slot." The operator droned in her ear. Charlie fumbled in her pocket. She pulled out all her change. She only had nine quarters, and she was planning to still have enough to call Dick and update him on the past weeks. Now she'd have to come back, if she even had the chance.  
As she stuffed the quarters in, Charlie mentally cursed herself and tried not to cry. Everything seemed to be going downhill, and she knew that as soon as the snow fell it would only get worse. 

Danny looked up when Charlie called out his name. He waved goodbye to his newly founded friends and rushed over to Charlie. As they started to walk back to the carpark Charlie had parked in that morning, Danny looked up at her. "Are you pregnant?"  
Shocked, Charlie stumbled. "What? No, of course I'm not. Why would you think that?"  
Danny just shrugged. "Your dad thought you were."  
"Did Tony show you that?"  
"Nah. I sort of just knew. Sometimes I just know things. Mommy and Daddy don't like it when I know things I shouldn't know. You don't mind, do you?"  
"I don't mind, Danny. In fact, you can tell me any time Tony shows you something, or you know something, okay?"  
He smiled at Charlie, and she felt warmth flower in her chest. "Okay. Thanks, Chuck. You're the best." 

Thanks for reading and feel free to review. xxx


	5. Chapter 5

ROOM 237

"Hey, Chuck?"  
Charlie looked up from the cake batter she was stirring. "Yeah?" Danny was sitting at the metal table in the kitchen, while Charlie was a few feet away preparing a cake for Mother's Day. Danny and her had already handmade a card for Wendy, but somehow Danny had convinced Charlie to bake one of her cheesecakes, Wendy's favourite dessert. She had already made the chocolate mixture that she would swirl through the cheesecake filling, but seeing Danny sitting at the table eating it straight from the bowl, Charlie suspected she might have to make some more.  
"What's in Room 237?"  
Charlie froze. Even though Dick had insisted that Charlie didn't have the shining, she still made sure to stay far away from Room 237 just in case. Dick had filled her in on the history a long time ago; a young man arrived at the hotel with an elderly woman, and left her in Room 237 while he went out drinking and gambling. The old lady ran a bath for herself, but drowned in it in 'suspicious circumstances'. After that the young man received her hefty inheritance, as she had written him into her will. Dick had told Charlie of his first stay in the Overlook. He stayed in 237 and saw a rotting naked corpse of the lady. He was shaken up but he explored the hotel further and discovered many more remnants of past events that his shining allowed him to see. He applied for a job at the hotel straightaway as an effort to be a guardian over any guests that might shine too.  
But Danny couldn't know any of that. Charlie also couldn't afford making him curious enough to seek it out. "Nothing special, Doc. It's just another suite."  
"Dick is scared of Room 237." Danny finished up the bowl of chocolate sauce and got up from the metal table. "And just before, I was over there and the door was open."  
Charlie stopped mixing and gave her full attention to Danny. "You didn't go in, did you?"  
"No. Not yet."  
"Not yet?" Charlie put on her stern voice. "Listen, Danny, I don't want to scare you but anything Tony has ever shown you is nothing to what is in Room 237. Please don't ever go in there."  
His eyes were wide. "What is in there?"  
"Nothing good." She took in his frowning face, and decided to lighten the mood. "Look, Danny, you've had all the chocolate sauce! What's up with that, huh?"  
He giggled, and the sparkle returned to his eyes. "I was hungry!"  
"We just had lunch."  
"I was hungry for chocolate sauce! I had a hunger only your chocolate sauce could satisfy!"  
Charlie laughed. "Sure, sure. I guess I better make more then. Any feedback, since you had the whole thing yourself?"  
"More sugar!"  
"Nice try, Doc. You can help me stir it this time."  
Danny happily ran up to the kitchen bench and pulled out a spoon, dark chocolate sauce all over his cheeks.

That night, the four crowded around the fireplace in the Colorado Lounge. Since the snow had started that morning, it had quickly gone from cold to freezing, and they had jumpers on and blankets out. Wendy was practically glowing when Danny gave her his homemade card after dinner, and she still sat on the carpet, reading it over and over. Charlie and Danny had managed to keep the card and the cake secret from Wendy, and Charlie thought it was about time she brought out the second half of the surprise. She cleared her throat and the family all looked at her. "I'm just going to get a drink of water, I'll be _right back_ ," she hinted, winking at Danny.  
He winked back, a bit less subtle, and called out, "Charlie is going to get some water, everyone. Nothing suspicious, mommy!"  
Wendy looked quite confused as Charlie snuck down the hallway towards the kitchen, trying not to laugh.

The kitchen was dark when Charlie got to it, and she blindly reached for the light switches, turning the one closest to the fridge on. She opened the huge metal door, and moved a tub of margarine out of the way to reveal her culinary pride and joy, the chocolate cheesecake. It had a graham biscuit base, with fluffy white filling and rich chocolate sauce swirled through it. Charlie had taken the liberty of making a chocolate ganache that had firmed up on top of the filling from its time in the fridge. Charlie grabbed it off the shelf, took four plates and a large knife, and flicked the lights off with her elbow on the way out.  
As Charlie walked back down the corridor leading to the Colorado Lounge, she looked over all the décor and furniture that was so familiar to her. The geometric carpet, the old-fashioned wall lamps, the-  
Charlie froze, mid-stride. She swore she saw something move. Not a rat or a mouse or even a spider, it was high up on the wall. She back-tracked a few steps and the fire hose, all coiled up in its metal casing, came into her peripheral vision. Charlie slowly turned to face it. Maybe it was the shock of the past week, or maybe it was the dark playing tricks on her, but she swore the fire hose had moved. Its nozzle reminded her of a snake, glinting metal at the end of a coiled up body. The cake started to wobble, and Charlie realised her right hand was shaking, shifting the plate with it. The thought of her hands made her once again aware of the sharp knife clutched in her left hand, along with the four small plates. Slowly Charlie leant down to sit the cheesecake and the plates on the floor, but retained her grasp on the knife.  
 _Don't be stupid, Charlie. It's a damn fire hose._  
But something about the silence of that moment, and how far away everyone else seemed in this enormous hotel made her skin shiver with goosebumps. She straightened up again, and her heart almost jumped out of her chest.  
It had moved.  
There was no denying that before the nozzle was tucked in, facing the wall, and now it was turned out. The black hole leading down into the belly of the snake, the looping tube of fire hose, was pointing right towards her face. _It was staring at her._ Charlie couldn't help but stare back, worried for some reason that it would attack her.  
 _But I don't have the shining. I know I don't. Dick says so.  
_ Charlie tried to shake the fright out. She was just being spooked. The fire hose didn't move at all. And even if it did, Charlie wouldn't be in danger, because she didn't even shine. Not a little bit, according to Dick.  
She let out a breath, painfully loud in the silence, and picked up the plates and the cheesecake. With her hand slightly trembling, she paced even faster out into the Colorado Lounge.

"Finally, Chuck!" All the remaining traces of fear left as Charlie took in the adorable image. Danny had gotten into his pyjamas, flannelette ones with trucks on, and was curled up in a fluffy blanket. Wendy and Jack were talking quietly, heads turned in to each other and hands loosely grasped together. Jack looked up when Danny called out, and saw Charlie, a genuine grin on her face, showing the gap between her front teeth, and a delicious-looking cheesecake in hand.  
"Happy Mother's Day, Wendy!"  
"Yeah, mom, happy Mother's Day! We made you a cake!"  
Charlie laughed. "We isn't the word I'd use. I made the cheesecake, and Danny taste-tested it."  
Wendy smiled at them both, and almost drooled over the cheesecake. "Mm, my favourite! Who wants some?"  
Not surprisingly, everyone did. They crowded around the roaring fire, sharing stories and laughing together. For a moment Charlie forgot about all the bad things that had happened.  
For a moment Charlie felt like family.

When Charlie finally got into her pyjamas and went to bed, it was past midnight. Jack and Danny had convinced her to play the piano for them, and it went from playing little ditties to teaching Danny how to play Christmas carols to Jack bellowing out the lyrics to his favourite rock songs while Charlie tried to keep up. It was a fun night.  
She was just about to turn out the light when there was a soft knock at the door. She smiled at sat up, thinking it was Danny, but her smile faltered when Jack's tall shadow was standing at the door.  
"May I come in?" His tone was light, so Charlie tried to stop herself from getting scared, but yet she stayed wary.  
"Okay. What are you doing here?"  
"I came to see you. Obviously," he joked, but there was a darkness in his eyes and an edge to his grin. "You're a pretty girl, you know that?"  
Charlie's voice wasn't louder than a whisper. "Thank you. Why are you here?"  
He sighed. "My, uh, _sperm-bank_ upstairs is starting to get on my nerves." He sat down on Charlie's bed, and she tried to shuffle away without him noticing. "I need me a new piece of ass or I'll go crazy."  
Her eyes widened. "I'm only seventeen." _And you're already crazy_.  
He sat back and pretended to think. "Hmm, you're right. Nice and young."  
"Please go, I feel uncomfortable."  
He didn't seem to hear her. "You know, I started to write a new character in my play that was meant to be Wendy. But then Wendy started to _nag_ , and I gave my character a gap-tooth." Shivers ran down Charlie's back, and almost subconsciously, she ran her tongue over the small gap between her two front teeth. "And then Wendy stopped bringing my breakfast, so my character became an amazing cook. Wendy is getting older but my character was young. One day, I was getting a really good idea, and I was typing and typing and I accidentally called this character Charlie. Do you see?"  
This whole time Jack was getting more and more animated, leaning in closer and breathing heavier. "She's you, Charlie." He laughed. "My Charlie is your Charlie! Not Wendy. I don't _want_ Wendy. Not anymore."  
Charlie tried once more. "Please go, Jack."  
Jack shrugged and got up from the bed. Charlie released a rush of air she didn't realise she was holding. He walked out, but at the last minute, turned around. "I'll show you tomorrow. Sweet dreams."  
He left before Charlie could protest.

Her plan was failing. It was 3:06 am and Charlie couldn't sleep. She didn't want Danny's visions to come true, either of them, so she had to act fast. Jack was starting to take an interest in her, and Charlie had to stop it.  
She thought back to all the reasons he no longer liked Wendy. Wendy nagged; she didn't bring him food; she was becoming middle-aged. Charlie couldn't do much about the last one but she sure as hell could nag, and she sure as hell could stop making Jack food.  
There was only one problem: she couldn't make Jack so angry that he'd want to, God forbid, _kill_ her. She'd have to be careful.  
Charlie sat in silence and devised a plan. It would start with Jack's new character.  
As Charlie thought and planned, she finally drifted off into the dreamless sleep she craved.

Yo. Hopefully some of you got the reference to the book in the fire hose scene. That is a thing I really like to do, that is, put book material in the fanfiction. I know lots of you probably watched the movie and haven't read the book, but most of the time, any extra information about canon characters is from the book.  
Please review, and if you have any ideas or theories for where the story will lead, I'd love to hear them! I have big plans, but I'm always open to new material.


	6. Chapter 6

Charlie was in the basement. Contrary to what her father would think, she spent a fair amount of time down here when he was around. Now that she was with the Torrance's, though, she hadn't been down in a while.  
It was dustier than it should be, and the bulb had blown. Luckily, the boiler was still at a safe level, so someone had to be checking it regularly. But there was an ashtray sitting on a shelf with snuffed out cigarettes in it. Wendy, then. As far as Charlie knew, Jack didn't smoke. Even if he did, he sure as hell wouldn't leave lipstick marks like these ones had.  
The reason Charlie spent so much time down here in the peak seasons, other than escaping her father, was to make a scrapbook. She had kept it under wraps, not even sharing her plan with Dick, but Charlie was compiling a dark history of the Overlook with the intent of getting it shut down, or at least destroying its reputation. She had made a scrapbook with newspaper clippings and interviews and diary entries and so forth. It highlighted the murders, the scandals, the frauds, everything that had happened in the long life of the Overlook. It had taken Charlie ages to make, and it was her secret pride and joy. The only thing she still had to put in was a shady deal that her father made a few months ago; just a minor thing, really, but for thoroughness' sake she had include it. Once she had tracked down some evidence from her father's desk she could give it to a newspaper or news channel to leak the truth.  
But as Charlie rooted around in the dusty old newspapers she felt something was wrong in her gut. The papers were all spread out on the floor, and they were too flat to be hiding her book under them. Someone had taken the scrapbook.  
Her first thought was that Wendy must've taken it. If she was the one down here doing all the work, maybe she was cleaning up and found it. But that wasn't right. Wendy had trusted her with Danny's mental state, with Jack's alcoholism, and with her own fears. Surely Wendy would talk to Charlie about it, even just to ask her what it was, as it didn't have her name on it.  
So it wasn't Wendy. Danny wasn't allowed down here, and none of the workers came down before they left.  
There was only one person.  
John Daniel Torrance.  
Jack.

This made Charlie's mission to keep Jack at bay even more complicated. She summed it up in her mind. First, she had to make sure Jack didn't have any want to kiss her in front of his wife; secondly, she had to make sure Jack didn't brutally murder her either; and finally, she had to work out where Jack was keeping her scrapbook and get it back.  
Easy enough, right?  
Charlie was royally screwed.

The clacking of the keys drowned out Charlie's footsteps. She cleared her throat. "Jack?" He didn't react. "Jack!"  
He looked up with a scowl on his face, but it twisted up into a grin when he saw it was her. "Yeah, sugar?"  
Now or never. "I just wanted to say that I want you to take my character out."  
He tilted his head at her and furrowed his eyebrows. "And why would that be?"  
Charlie drew up any courage she had left in her. "I don't want any correlation to your shitty play."  
He went silent. He had a passive look on his face as he quietly observed her. "Just read it." He pushed a stack of papers in a box to her. That action drew her eyes to the table.  
The table, and the thick, dusty scrapbook lying open on it.  
She cleared her throat and picked up the first couple pages. As she flicked through them with a disapproving look on her face, some dark matter inside her laughed. She was enjoying this.  
The first three pages after the title were set out like an average play, but on page five, there was a mess on the top of the page where he had mashed random keys over and over again. Eventually it morphed into a repeated sentence, over and over through the rest of the pages. ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY.  
"I hate it."  
The frown on his face grew and it darkened his face. "What now?" His voice was deadly, and it sounded barbed, ready to strike.  
"Terrible plot, useless structure, and I want you to take my character out. It's disgusting." While Charlie maintained a steely resolve, her fingers were crossed behind her back, quietly praying for luck. She could feel them shaking.  
He nodded. And nodded again. His hand was tucked under his chin in a mocking pose of thought. "Thank you for your opinion," he muttered, "wrong as it may be. Do you have anything else to say for yourself?"  
"Just that…" Charlie sought around in her brain for something that would really make him angry. "Just that you remind me of your father." It was a stab in the dark; like one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books, an estimate; a guess. A guy like him must have daddy issues.  
It worked. Instantly his face twisted into a mural of fury and a spike of fear rushed up Charlie's spine. "You fucking cunt. What do you know of my father?"  
"None of your business."  
"It is my fucking business, HOW DO YOU KNOW MY FATHER?!" He was rising out of his chair and slowly raising his right arm, palm outstretched.

Charlie braced herself for the hit, but it never fell. Jack's eyes had shifted behind Charlie, looking into the distance, and confusion had cleared some of the rage away.  
"Daddy?"  
 _Danny_. It was poor little Danny, and Charlie turned around to see him with bruises filling his neck. He was swaddled up in the arms of his mother, and Wendy looked terrified.  
"There's someone in Room 237! Jack, please, she hurt Danny!"  
She? Danny had gone into Room 237 and been attacked by a _she_. Not just scared, but physically attacked.  
They all had to get out of this hotel. Dick was wrong; it wasn't safe. Those pictures in a book could strangle you now.  
Charlie saw the fear in Danny's eyes, and she knew she had to do something. "I'll check it out," she announced.  
"No, Charlie, it isn't safe," Wendy argued, still clutching onto her child.  
"I'll go with her." Charlie almost jumped out of her skin when she heard the manly growl right behind her. Jack was grinning; he knew she couldn't refuse, not in the current circumstances.  
Charlie stormed off in the direction of the haunted suite, not checking if Jack was following.

The door was still open, and Charlie pushed through before she could freak herself out. She had been blatantly ignoring Jack the whole way and it wasn't about to change. Wendy had decided to tag along and hang behind, curiosity getting the better of her. She had left to put Danny to bed first, promising she wouldn't be long.  
As Charlie inspected the empty, slightly disturbed room she prayed that Jack was still angry enough with her to stay away.  
"If you wanted me alone in a bedroom you could've just asked." Fuck. She could feel his breath on her neck, and she gripped the bedside drawer so hard her knuckles went white.  
"I don't. You disgust me."  
"Playing hard to get it getting a little boring, babe." He flipped her around to face him and the grin on his face.  
"Shut up, you pervert!" She raised a hand to slap him but he caught it and slammed it against the floral wallpaper. As he leaned in, she could smell alcohol on his breath, even though she knew for a fact there wasn't any in the hotel.  
Just before he closed the gap between them completely, a light, scared voice rang out outside the door. "Is there anyone there, Jack? Charlie?"  
Fuck. Wendy was there. Best timing ever. Charlie knew that Danny's vision was about to come true, and there was nothing she could do anymore. "We're fine, there's no one here," her voice cracked and Jack's smile grew.  
"Oh- okay, then. Are you coming out?"  
Jack crushed his mouth against hers and her scalp banged the wall. Their teeth clacked together and Charlie felt her lip split. "Jus' a 'inute," she called out, voice muffled by Jack's unforgiving lips.  
He had no regard for her. Charlie hoped he wasn't like this with Wendy, because her mouth hurt and her nose was squashed at a weird angle between their faces. Jack's tongue slipped out of his mouth and licked the blood from the cut on her lip, and Charlie started to sob.  
If it wasn't for his body pressing hers against the wall, she would've sunk to the ground. She was trying to push him away, all the while trying to keep her cries silent.  
As her elbow made a loud bang on the wall, the doorknob started to squeak. Wendy was coming in. Charlie could hear, but not see, Wendy move through the living room into the bedroom and let out a shocked gasp. "Jack, how could you?!"  
He finally pulled away, and Charlie fell to the ground. Shame flooded her cheeks and she couldn't help quietly crying on the carpet.  
The violence of her sobs muted her surroundings and gave her a foggy headache. She could barely hear anything; just the muffled yelling Wendy and Jack exchanged. It seemed they forgot she was there, but that was fine with Charlie.

Eventually it was silent, and Charlie had calmed down. Her vision was still blurry with the tears she didn't have the energy to wipe away, but she could tell that it was dark outside. She heard footsteps, and numbly turned her head toward the source.  
It was Danny, in his football pyjamas, but he was different. His hand was up in a fist, with one finger extended skyward.  
"I'm sorry, Chuck." His voice was soft, but then it changed. It turned gravelly, and his finger wiggled up and down. " _I told you so._ "  
Her head fell back against the wall.  
"Tony, that's rude." So that was the Tony that had apparently sealed her fate. "Chuck, you said it was a trick. But Tony was right. Say something, Chuck." She remained silent, finally wiping her tears and seeing Danny properly. "Please? I'm scared."  
"It's okay, Danny. I'm fine. Let's go to bed, okay?"  
He nodded and held out his hand when Charlie stood up. She held onto it like a lifeline and they quietly made their way down the hall together.

Phew! I'm sorry that took a while, but it was a really tough one to write. Hopefully it makes up for the wait.  
Feel free to review and tell me what happens next! I'd love to hear from you!


	7. Chapter 7

She could feel the tension in the room, almost like a tangible pressure on her ears. It made her deaf and sick with fear, so when the murmur of Danny chatting away reached her, all she could do was hum in what she hoped was a pleasant, agreeing tone.  
They were sitting on the floor in his bedroom, fiddling with a puzzle Danny had been working on for the past couple hours. He had enlisted her help, but it evidently wasn't working; she'd been holding on to the same small piece for as long as she could remember. The reason her head felt underwater was the man in the room next door. Charlie could hear him laughing along to himself, watching some stupid cartoons Charlie's father had recorded years back. Every now and then there would be a great bang, or a goofy voice shout out some one-liner, and he would howl with laughter. She couldn't help but flinch every time.

She had put on a brave face in front of Danny, and it seemed to be working for now, but inside her mind was whirring. What must Wendy be thinking? The night of the 237 incident ended in both parents screaming their hearts out at each other, and Charlie firmly cupping her hands over poor Danny's ears the whole time. Jack slept in another room that night.  
But Wendy surely hated her now, Charlie thought. There was no way, after what that woman saw out of context, that she could ever be civil or pleasant. Come to think of it, Charlie hadn't even seen her in the days between then and now. To be honest, Charlie tried not to encounter anyone anymore.  
It seemed that the snow outside was drowning her in its white depths. She would've been good and normal if it wasn't for the fact that she couldn't leave. It wasn't just uncomfortable staying here; it was a slow death. In the solace Charlie had sought out, she found dull acceptance of what she once could only deny: Danny's visions were always true.  
So, really, nothing mattered anymore. The gruesome death that was in store was a sick, sad reality she would eventually face. Charlie wanted to know, then, why was it that she couldn't help but care _so much_ about this family she lived with? Why did she stress over her relationship with Wendy, who was more than a makeshift mother to her? Why, even though he was going to kill her, she still had an urge to save Jack from his misery?  
Why could she not bear to leave Danny?

A lurch tore through her stomach, and Charlie stood up with a jolt. Danny looked up with wide eyes and said her name.  
"I'll be right back, okay Doc?" Her voice was weak and shaky, and no louder than a whisper. Danny furrowed his eyebrows, but continued playing.  
With legs made of jelly, and numb feet, she made her way out of the room. Her vision was faded and spots danced around the hallways, flickering with the movement of her tired eyes. All of a sudden she was in a bathroom; a bright, red bathroom with glaring mirrors and spotless sinks. She sunk to the cool tiled floor and laid her forehead against it. She screwed her eyes shut, and put her hands over her ears.  
After a few minutes of deep breathing and the loudest silence, Charlie slowly sat up. What the hell was that? She felt sick to her stomach, and swallowed down the urge to vomit in one of those impossibly clean sinks.  
She sat in the stillness of that bathroom and quietly looked around. Was it just her, or was there something not right here? She tried to place herself in the massive hotel, but came up short. The thought took longer to materialise in her sluggishness, but eventually everything was a little sharper.  
This room…didn't exist. Forcing herself to get up and find an exit, she came to terms with that. She had somehow found a place in this hotel that simply shouldn't be there.  
She located the door and was making for a speedy exit when a voice filled the silence.  
"You've been rather naughty, my dear," the smooth monotone seemed to echo directly inside her head.  
She turned around, and was assaulted with a face from history. Slightly ashamed at instantly recognising him, Charlie came face to face with the dead man Delbert Grady. He was famous to her, he was one of the biggest scandals featured in her burn book about the Overlook.  
He was a murderer. And he was here right in front of her.  
"I've half a mind to get that Torrance man to kill you right now," he continued.  
She laughed, but it was empty. "Nice try, sir, but I know that's how it's going down anyway," she choked out, "and I'm not in the mood to chat."  
No reaction. His face was the epitome of politeness; a napkin was still perfectly folded over his well-dressed arm.  
 _He's a ghost_ , she reminded herself. And with the strength that the thought gave her, she turned around and simply left. The door opened into the Gold Room, in all its glory. 'Glory' meaning that it was in fact packed to the rafters with vintage party guests. Men dressed in tuxes with combed moustaches and women with flutes of champagne gossiping and pretending to dance. There was a menacing laugh from behind her and she set off through the crowds for the far-away door that led to the hallway. Ghost-guests somehow bumped into her, spilling their ghost-drinks all over her skirt and top, and ghost-nibbles that had been dropped were being crushed under her sneakers.  
Suddenly someone bumped directly into her, and she fell back onto another body. She turned around to apologise only to see Grady with his lips stretched in a formal smile. In panic she turned to the man who knocked into her.  
Delbert Grady gave her a polite nod. All the breath left her and she looked wildly around the room. A sea of Delbert Grady's, all identically dressed, all with the same smile and nod towards her. She froze in fear and her eyes stung.  
"Do we need to corr _ect_ you, Charlotte?" they all asked in unison, and tilted their heads. A cry ripped out of her throat and she frantically ran towards the exit, screaming to block out their questions and her chin down into her chest so all she could see were perfectly shined shoes, and her own scruffy ones running for their lives. The black shoes were becoming less in number and she could only hope she was near the doors. It seemed like she had been running forever when she finally stopped seeing any shoes but her own, and the pattern of the carpet repeating itself onwards. She slowed down and huffed, trying not to pant as air reached her lungs again. She looked up, set off again, but instantly stopped in her tracks.  
She was standing outside the bathroom. The door out was still on the other side of the room, and the room was empty except for one.  
John Daniel Torrance stood in the middle of the room, hands in the deep pockets of his coat and shoes scuffing the carpet. He looked up when she saw him, and grinned at her. "How you doin, Hun?"  
Her voice was so weak she didn't know if he would even hear her from all the way over there. "Been better," she rasped out. He laughed. She supposed being a psychopath gave you great hearing. "I think I'm going to go to bed now," she continued, praying this would be a short encounter.  
He shrugged and smiled. "What can you do, huh? Guess bed is a good idea. After all, it's what, 2 in the afternoon?" His smiled stretched into a grin, baring his teeth. "Want me to walk you to your room?" He winked at her, and the need to vomit returned.  
Not trusting her voice, Charlie simply shook her head and walked towards the exit…towards him.

She was a couple feet in front of him when he took his hands from his pockets and pulled out the gun. She jerked to a halt mid-step, directly in front of the barrel. As she stared down the black hole in front of her face, the out-of-focus face behind it leered at her.  
"I'm sure you'll get a _real good_ sleep after I'm done with you. In fact, you might never wake up!" The end of the gun wobbled with the force of his manic laughter.  
"Please don't do this." Charlie didn't realise she was crying until she heard the thickness of her own shaky voice. She let out a low whine when he pulled back the hammer, and the click that sounded echoed in her ears.  
His face settled into a grim stare, and that was when Charlie realised he was serious. It was time for a last resort.

 _Doc! Danny, please hear me! I need you now, Danny, your father is trying to kill me!_

 _Do you hear me, Danny? Jack is going to shoot me! DOC GODDAMMIT PLEASE!  
_  
There was a bright flash in her eyes, and what seemed like an eternity later, a bang.


	8. Chapter 8

_Charlie? Chuck? Are you okay?  
_ The darkness was overwhelming, blocking her ears, but luckily Danny didn't need to open his mouth to talk to her. Her eyes felt glued shut and her body was numb. What happened?  
Charlie remembered…that red bathroom…Grady's ghost…and Danny's father with a gun to her head.  
When the memories flooded back, so did her senses. She didn't feel carpet against her back, it was a cold and hard surface. She must've been moved. Charlie groaned and tried to wiggle her fingers and toes.  
She heard a gasp. "Chuck! You're okay! Open your eyes, I saved you, Chuck!" Taking a breath to brace herself, Charlie cracked open her eyes. Danny had his face about two inches from hers and as much as her head hurt, she couldn't help the smile tugging at her lips.  
A throaty chuckle left her mouth. "Hey there, Doc." Another thought came to mind. "Your dad…"  
Danny frowned. "He didn't wake up for a while and mummy said he wasn't breathing." Charlie breathed an oh-my-god before Danny continued. Mummy is taking him down to Sidewinder to see the doctor. I hope he gets better, I didn't like him when he was sick."  
Danny leaned back as Charlie craned her neck to look down at herself. There was a clunky bandage around her right forearm, and it seemed that finally seeing it triggered the pain. "God, Danny, what happened?" She frowned. "And how did your mum get to Sidewinder, with no Sno-Cat?"  
Danny sat back on his heels and fiddled with the hem of her dress as he spoke. "I called Mr Halloran. I told him I was scared and that I wanted him to come help daddy. He brought a Sno-Cat with him." Charlie looked around the room, but couldn't see him. "He went with mummy and daddy, ' _just in case,_ '" Danny said it with hand quotation marks and Charlie smiled again.  
She pushed herself up and crossed her legs, facing Danny. She still had so many questions, but she was more worried about how Danny must be feeling. "How about we get ourselves some ice-cream and play with your trucks, Doc?" He considered for a moment, with a comical pondering look on his face, and finally nodded.  
Charlie stood slowly and when Danny got up he held out his hand. She smiled and held on to it, not sure who the comfort of it was for, somehow she suspected she needed it as much as Danny. As they pottered down the hallways in their socks, swinging their joint hands between them, Charlie made small talk with him, talking about what he was going to do when summer came back and they went home. She kept a smile on her face, but her heart twisted in her chest thinking about having to leave the family. Danny most of all, of course, but even though things would always be awkward between her and Jack, and she was certain Wendy would never forgive her, she would miss them too. They were more of a family to her than she had ever had with her real father.  
They arrived at the kitchen and Danny let go of her hand, bee-lining for the boxes of chocolate ice-cream in the freezer. Charlie joined him with two metal bowls and gave them both a generous amount. As they sat down to eat, Danny had his eyebrows furrowed and his lips screwed up.  
"Chucky?"  
"Yeah, Doc?"  
"I was thinking…that musical that you are doing, maybe we could come see it one day." Charlie agreed, but Danny still had that strange look on his face. "Although it probably won't be very good, I haven't seen you practice for weeks!"  
Charlie let out a laugh. She was surprised with how genuinely happy she felt in that moment. "You're too right, Doc, I should really be rehearsing more. You could run some lines with me?"  
He scrunched up his face. "Musicals are for girls!"  
She laughed again. "I thought you wanted to come see it?"  
"That's just because you're in it, though."  
"I'm still a girl."  
Danny paused, a thick line on chocolate sitting on his upper lip. He tapped his spoon against the table, thinking. "Yeah, but it doesn't count when it's family, Chuck."  
Charlie suddenly felt tears prickling her eyes, and had to stare at the light and blink them away. "You know I love you, Danny," she said, although it came out in more of a whisper.  
He put his spoon down, and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. His chair scraped back and he hopped down, walking around the table to Charlie. She turned to face him just as he threw his arms around her. "I love you too, Chuck," he whispered into her ear. She squeezed him tighter to her but eventually had to let go.  
He went back to his chair, and quietly finished the rest of his ice-cream, now melted. Charlie sat and thought. "Hey, Danny?"  
"Yup?"  
"Is there a university where you live?"  
Oh, yeah! The big kids that live down the road from me go there and they always have loads of friends over to play. I wanna go there when I'm old enough. How come?"  
Charlie bit her lip and mulled it over. "Just wondering." Danny shrugged and pushed his bowl away.  
She got up to take the bowls over to the sink to clean them, but then thought better of it, opting instead to go play with Danny.

A few hours later, Danny was pushing a truck up the arm of a chair and making 'vroom' noises when he suddenly stood up straight. "Everything okay, Doc?"  
He stayed still for a few more moments, but then turned to her and grinned. "Mr Halloran said him and mummy and daddy are coming back here now!"  
"That's awesome news, Danny. Did he say how far away he was?" Before Danny could reply, they both turned towards the sound of an engine. Charlie's heart leapt in her chest, but she wasn't sure whether it was happiness or nerves. She ran after Danny up to the giant front doors in the foyer. He was animatedly tugging at the doors but couldn't budge them. She laughed and pushed one open enough to let them both out. Danny squealed and ran outside. Charlie followed, slower, taking in the scene.  
Dick had got out of the Sno-Cat to help open the passenger door and was grinning at her. Warmth rose up in Charlie, the feeling of home and comfort at seeing her old friend, but she froze when Wendy got out of the car. Carefully, like a gazelle sneaking around a lion, she scanned Wendy's face for anger or sadness or…anything, really. Wendy smiled and ran to hug Danny, and while he was in her arms, Wendy looked directly at Charlie and nodded. She didn't seem overly angry, but she certainly wasn't back to best friend status. Charlie nodded back.  
Dick walked up to her while Danny reunited with his mother. Before she could speak, he enveloped her in a bear hug surprisingly powerful for the scrawny man. Tears of relief overwhelmed her and she hugged back just as hard, the pair swaying back and forth. When they finally broke apart, Dick put his cold hands on her face and searched her face. "You okay, my girl?"  
"I'm fine, Dick." Her smile fell a little. "What happened when you arrived? Jack was going to shoot me last I knew."  
He sobered up. "Danny's shining is far too powerful for his own good, you know that, it's how he could even contact me in the first place. I think he used it to distract Jack enough for me to knock him over." Dick gently held out her arm. "You're lucky to be alive, girl."  
She nodded, and her eyes wandered over to Danny. "I sure am." She suddenly wished she had the shining, just so she could say _thank you_ to Danny a million times right now. As she thought it, he looked up and smiled at her.  
 _No problem._ Charlie was so taken off guard, her jaw almost fell to the ground. She looked at Dick, the question clear on her face.  
"What," he laughed, "you thought you didn't have even a lil' bit of the shining? Dream on, girl, you always had it. Just wasn't as strong as mine or the boy's."  
She nodded slowly. "And Jack?" He looked pensive. "He's better now? What did the doctor say?"  
Dick sighed. "Prob'ly best you get it from Wendy, but he'll be fine." She breathed out. "He's hooked up to all sorts of wires and tubes, but the doc says it'll be a quick recovery. Now that this darned hotel has got its bloody mitts of him, anyway. He thinks it's just a bad case of cabin fever. At least he ain't ever coming back to this place. Good thing, too."  
Charlie looked over to see Wendy heading towards her. Dick saw and nodded. "I'll give you two some time," he said, and joined Danny who was exploring every inch of the Sno-Cat.  
Wendy stood in front of her with an exhausted look on her face. Charlie felt hopeless and guilty. "I can only apologise," she began, but Wendy shook her head.  
"I understand." Wendy looked down at the snow as she continued. "Jack woke up and explained. I shouldn't have rushed to conclusions, I'm so sorry, Charlie."  
Charlie was gobsmacked. "You aren't the one who should be sorry! I could've told you long ago what was going on, but I was so embarrassed. I wanted to deal with it myself, but clearly I couldn't. I really don't know how I can repay you for the grief I've caused."  
Wendy was silent for a moment, looking at the bandage on Charlie's arm. "I think you've paid enough," she whispered. "Let's just clean the slate. I don't want to say goodbye on a bad note like this."  
Charlie bit her lip. "Maybe we don't have to say goodbye," she started. Wendy furrowed her eyebrows. "Danny told me there was a university in Boulder. I was thinking I could apply. I'm finishing up my home-schooling this summer."  
"Colorado University of Boulder, it's called. You know, Charlie, I think that's a great idea." Wendy smiled at her, and the two fell into a comfortable silence.  
Charlie swallowed. "So- what next?"  
Wendy looked at Danny having a snowball fight with Dick. She shook her head and shrugged. "While we were in Sidewinder, we arranged to have another Sno-Cat sent up here so we could all go down to Sidewinder. I guess we rent a hotel for a few days, God knows how we'll afford it, and wait for the rest of the off-season to pass." She sighed, and her breath sent a white wisp floating around them. "We need to stay away from this hotel for a while. Forever, hopefully." She eyed Charlie. "You know, I never believed in ghosts, or anything paranormal, until I stayed here. I think there's something else going on here. What do you think?"  
Charlie gave her a weary smile. "I think you're a very smart woman, Wendy." Wendy blinked, and nodded. The roar of the Sno-Cat sounded in the distance. It was making its way up the extensive driveway, past the maze and the hedge animals.  
As it drove up, Charlie had made up her mind. Stuart Ullman be damned, she was never coming back here. Without even realising it, through these months spent with strangers, she had completely switched families.

 **EIGHT MONTHS LATER**

Charlie couldn't help but drown out the sound of her professor with her own thoughts. She was sat in the most boring class of her degree, which was for early childhood education. It had only been a few weeks but already Charlie had worked out the good from the bad. Although she never initially imagined she'd do early childhood, her life had significantly changed in the past year. While spending the last few months of her home-schooling education in Sidewinder, rather than in the hotel, she had picked up a job at the local kindergarten. She was far happier doing it instead of working as a waitress in her father's hotel, but a part of her was still missing her other family. Truth be told, she missed the Torrance's so much she applied for a degree in early childhood at the Boulder University without really even thinking about it. She called up an old friend from the hotel and told him she quit the musical. She knew there was an understudy prepared, and Charlie just couldn't get excited for it anymore. She somehow got accepted and after a few months of saving and budgeting and planning, she had organised a small flat in a suburb about ten minutes' walk from the university to stay in while she got her feet under her. It was small, but she could call it home. The courses were on the whole great, and she had actually made a few good friends in the short time she had been there. She had even signed up for a university-run musical already.  
But none of this mattered right now. Charlie was in a lecture hall wiggling her toes in her shoes and biting her lip. Tonight she was going to dinner with the Torrance's. She hadn't spoken to them much, and hadn't seen them at all, but had called Wendy last week to arrange a catch-up.  
Charlie suspected Wendy was still adjusting to what had gone down at the Overlook, and she was slightly nervous to be seeing them again after all this time, but she knew she had to. She missed them too much.  
People got up and started moving around Charlie. In a daze, she realised the professor had dismissed them. She picked up her stuff and quickly rushed out into the open air. It was still warm, but the evenings were starting to become sharper as autumn neared. She still had about an hour and a half until she was meeting the Torrance's, so she walked home in no real rush.  
While she walked, she thought about Danny. Every now and again, he sent her little updates of what was going on in his life. It brought a smile to her face every time, but yet her heart broke when she would try to reply but to no avail. Her shining, as Dick had said, was there, but it was weak. She desperately wanted to see him again so she could finally have a proper conversation.  
She missed Wendy, but really just wanted them to be friends again. Charlie craved the female connection they had, seeing her almost as a mother or a sister. She knew things must be hard for Wendy, and wanted to bring her comfort and support.  
Unlocking her door, Charlie mustered up the courage to think about Jack. She had been mentally avoiding the thought of seeing Jack again. She wasn't scared _of_ him, but rather she was scared that she'd only be able to see the man who tried to kill her. Charlie sighed and kicked off her shoes, launching herself onto her couch. The side table was covered in bits of paper: bills, notes from classes, job application forms, and letters. Being a student was absolutely exhausting, and she hadn't even found a proper job yet. For now, Charlie was stuck being a receptionist for a dry-cleaning store that didn't really get very many customers. It paid the bills, but barely, and it certainly wasn't a fulfilling job.  
After a quick shower (shaving for the first time in, admittedly, a while) Charlie sat in her underwear in front of her closet. She had let time get away from her, relaxing under the hot spray, but now she only had about ten minutes to get ready and leave. Dress, fancy top and skirt, or nice jeans? Too hot for jeans. Too fancy for a dress shirt. Too windy for a dress. Charlie groaned and closed her eyes, sticking her hands out until she felt fabric. She cracked open one eye. Skirt and top it was.

About fifteen minutes later, Charlie stood outside the door of the Torrance house. She had rang the doorbell, and could hear movement inside. There was a series of quick footsteps and then a good ten seconds of someone fiddling with the lock on the door, and then Danny threw open the door, running in a flurry to give Charlie a hug.  
"Chuuuuck!" He cried, and clung onto her. She laughed, and saw Wendy round the corner.  
There was a moment of hesitation, and then Wendy smiled and joined in the hug. A huge sigh of relief left Charlie's mouth and she wrapped her arm around Wendy. "Boy, I've missed you guys!" Wendy laughed as Danny grabbed Charlie's hand and pulled her into the warm hallway, announcing he was going to show her his room. Wendy called out that dinner was in ten minutes and went back into the kitchen.  
Danny's room was filled with a great big mess of toys on the floor, books on the shelves, and stickers on the walls. He methodically showed Charlie every single toy he owned and all the books he had read while she sat and watched and laughed. All her feelings of doubt left her. Watching Danny leap and bound around her made Charlie question why she was ever nervous in the first place. Even though she had never been here before, it felt like home.  
After a few minutes, Wendy called out for dinner. Before Charlie and Danny could reply, a booming voice called out from down the hall in a joking tone. Loud footsteps echoed into Danny's room, and adrenaline rushed into Charlie's system once again.  
"I'll pick up the vagabonds on my way, should I?" He called out as he stepped into the doorway.  
Jack Torrance. Charlie observed him for the first time in almost a year. He looked…well, she supposed. Obviously the mad look of insanity had left his eyes, replaced by the characteristic cheekiness she knew when she first met him. His hair was a little shorter, yet it still stuck up at every angle. He had stubble, but it looked taken care of. His clothes were the same as always, but with less creases and smudges. He looked so familiar but somehow like a completely different man.  
She returned the grin on his face with her own, and got up to say hi. The hug that greeted her was the one she was most surprised by.  
Back in Sidewinder (which seemed an eternity ago), when she had visited him in hospital, he had apologised and they had made peace, but for some reason she was convinced that things would still be uncomfortable between them. She was pleasantly surprised, and very much relieved.  
The three of them walked out to the dining room, where the table was set and a beautiful roast meal on each of their plates. Charlie thanked Wendy and took a seat beside Danny. Jack sat at the head of the table, with Danny on his left and Wendy on his right.  
For a while they talked about school and university and what they had been up to, and it truly felt like old times. Charlie talked about how Dick had retired and was spending his time in Florida. Wendy talked about how with the insurance money her and Jack were planning on renovating the house. "We'll have matching paint and better plumbing and a bigger TV and it'll be wonderful," she exclaimed. Danny talked about how he was making more friends now that he was taking soccer. But Jack's news surprised Charlie most of all.  
"I'm going back to teaching," he said, casually leaning back in his chair. "I think writing a play is a bit of a dead end for me, so the high school is giving me a job for a trial run. It's a new start for us all, I think."  
"I'm really happy for you," Charlie said, and she really meant it. "I'm so glad you are more or less back to normal after what happened."  
Jack looked pensive. "I don't want to bring the mood down, but I've gotta apologise to you again, Charlie. I feel terrible, I really do."  
She smiled. "Don't worry about it at all. Actually," she said, pulling up her sleeve, "you wouldn't guess the coolest scar I got. Look, Danny, do you see the smiley face?"  
Danny's face lit up. "I see it, Chuck! Oh gosh, that's so cool!" She laughed, and the conversation turned light again.  
As she listened to her makeshift family share stories and jokes, Charlie smiled to herself. It seemed that they were finally all happy again. She looked up, and saw the TV resting on the kitchen bench, now on mute, was showing a picture of the hotel. ' _HISTORIC HOTEL BURNS TO THE GROUND IN FREAK ACCIDENT',_ the tagline read. Video clips of the blazing fire, fire trucks surrounding the alight hotel showed, with several testimonials of Mr. Watson, a fireman, and even her father himself. A small smile graced Charlie's face and she turned her attention back to the conversation, totally content.

 **THE END**

Thank you so much to everyone who ever followed or reviewed or favorited! This chapter was a really long time coming, because it was so damn difficult to make my mind up as to what would happen. Hopefully you like my ending, I am very satisfied with it myself. Please let me know your final thoughts, I'd be so happy to hear them! (I'm also open to any suggestions as to which fandom I should write for next, although I'm feeling partial to writing a Hannibal fanfic)


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